7 Things You Need To Know Before Moving to Portland, Oregon

It’s no secret that Portland, Oregon is trending among transplants. For the last three years Oregon has been deemed the most popular moving destination in the country, and the city of Portland has experienced the largest gains. Drawn like a moth to the flame of craft beer and creative culture, newcomers are flooding Portland like rain in the winter. If you’re among these hipster hopefuls, consider these 7 truths before packing for P-town:

1. It rains here, A LOT

You may think you already know this, but nothing prepares you for actually experiencing it. Let me put things into perspective: last year it literally rained every day in the month of December, accumulating 63.20 inches of rain. Seasonal depressive disorder is a real thing, and if you’re not okay going months without seeing the sun (looking at you California), you may want to reconsider.

2. Passive Drivers

Since it rains so often, you’d think Portlanders would be good at driving in the elements, right? Wrong! Portland drivers are consistently among the worst in the nation. And it doesn’t stop with the drivers. Portland is also one of the nation’s worst traffic cities, experiencing some of the worst congestion in the US.

3. The Rental Crisis

If you think Portland is affordable, think again. Portland has consistently led the nation in rapid rental increase, and apartment vacancy rates are as low as 3% — second only to New York City. An increased amount of city newcomers combined with a construction backlog and strict urban growth boundary have pushed Portland into a rental crisis, so much so that the city had to declare a state of housing emergency.

4. Portland’s Homeless Problem

While on the topic of Portland’s housing emergency, the homeless crisis is also worth mentioning. The state of homelessness in Portland is one of the most visible issues in the city. You can hardly walk through downtown without getting hit up for change, or seeing people sleeping on park benches and in doorways. Furthermore three fourths of Portland’s homeless are addicted to drugs, and half have mental issues, making daily encounters at best difficult, at worst dangerous.

5. The “Big One”

Another big thing to consider is the impending “Big One”. At any given time a massive earthquake (expected to be the worst natural disaster in North America history) could strike the Pacific Northwest and completely obliterate Portland and nearby cities. If you’ve never heard of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, you may want to read up on it before committing to a city that runs the risk of being flattened by an earthquake, then swallowed by a tsunami within the next 50 years.

6. Portland Neighborhoods

Know your quadrants! Portland is broken down into five main geographic quadrants: North, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest. Burnside Street divides north and south, while the Willamette River divides east and west. Knowing these neighborhoods will make getting around the city a breeze. Plus each neighborhood has its own character, as well as its own pros and cons. Finding a neighborhood that fits is an important part of moving to Portland.

7. Proper Portland Pronunciations

Before you will ever be accepted in Portland, you must learn how to properly pronounce several key names/words. First and foremost, whatever you do, don’t call Oregon “Ory-gone” or “Or-uh-gone” — you will be judged. As for Willamette (that beautiful river that separates east and west Portland), it’s pronounced Wil-LAM-ette. Blend in with locals by pronouncing the name with emphasis on the second syllable. Other commonly mispronounced street names are Couch (pronounced Cooch) and Glisan (pronounced Gleason).

21 comments

Love this post! I think a lot of people move here thinking it’s a foodie liberal outdoor utopia (which it is in many, many ways!) but get surprised by the weather, the traffic, the housing. And I always tell non-Portlanders to think of the phrase “It’s Willamette Dammit” because the two words rhyme and that’s an easy way for them to remember!

Haha, you’re kind of making me want to leave this city 😉 The traffic issue is for reals!!!! Man it makes me miserable. The rain I’ve learned to live with, most of the time anyways. Though with all of the cons there are certainly many positives that make it all worth it (like the summers here! THE PERFECT SUMMERS!!!). 🙂

and you do not “go months without seeing the sun.” You see it CONSTANTLY in July, August, September….and VERY often the rest of the year….yes, in winter. It hardly EVER rains here. It rains more often in New York than it does here. The sun is out a majority of the days, for at least some of the time. 2017 has been great because we got snow snow snow! But as I type this, there has been no rain for 70+ days. Consider that. And none in the forecast. NOT A DROP OF RAIN.

Great list! One thing I would add in terms of knowing about the quadrants is that because there’s only so many ways to get across the river from one side to the other, the side you choose to live in is going to really become your center so think about your stores and restaurants in that area carefully and where your work office is located!

Portland was a nice place to live but the crime and traffic is getting worse every day so you might wanna check it out before moving here and watch our local news and probably stay where you are unless you don’t mind getting burglarized, vandelized, or even shot and robbed and harassed by all the homeless druggie and the mentally ill. Yup, we have the worst in the nation plus include Oregonized crime from the politicians that stealing all your money little by little making up and raising taxes on everything they can dream up. True Oregonians see all this and that’s why there moving out of here so you newcomers can make these guys rich. Have fun! Lol! Lol!

I’ll be moving to Portland next month due to an educational/employment opportunity there, but have never actually visited. I’ve been doing as much research as I can and this has been helpful! Doing my apartment search, I have noticed that things are very different there than any city I’ve lived in before. It’s very confusing, and difficult! I am also curious about this “Passive drivers” thing…coming from Houston, where traffic is horrible and drivers are legitimately deranged, it should be interesting! P.S. I love rain so I’ll enjoy that(so long as it’s not the torrential floods and hurricane/tropical storm kinds of rain we get here. Over that)

That’s awesome! I have a lot of posts on Portland if you’re looking for more info on neighborhoods or bars / restaurants. You will love Portland. It really is a great city (especially if you don’t mind the rain!)

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Brianne Limani

Thanks for stopping by! I'm Brianne, the flight-risk writer behind Everyday Runaway. Born and raised in Idaho, I spent the last several years climbing the career ladder in Portland, Oregon before quitting my job and "running away" to live the digital nomad life in Hawaii. Everyday Runaway is a travel (and wine, and food, and lifestyle) blog aimed at inspiring a community of "runaways" to escape the monotony of everyday life through travel and quality experiences.